Dredge.



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W. P. HOWB. i DREDGE.

APPLICATION FILED APB. 13, 190B.

Patented Aug. 23, 1910.

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WILLIAM F. HOWE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DREDGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 23, 1910.

Application led April 13, 1908. Serial No. 426,704.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. HowE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dredges, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in dredges and more particularly to suction dredges, wherein material is drawn from the point of excavation through a suction pipe as a result of reduction of pressure in said pipe.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a dredge wherein a suction head is applied to the suction pipe for bodily movement therewith and is automatically movable upon the said pipe for most eflicient presentation to the work on both courses or strokes of an oscillating swing of the suction pipe.

Another object of my invention is to provide a single actuating mechanism for imparting the desired bodily and relative movements to both the suction pipe and suction head.

Other objects of my invention are to provide improvements in general and detail to produce a simple and highly efficient dredge of the character described, and further objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein;

Figure 1 is a plan view with parts broken away of a dredge embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional detail on line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the dredge shown in Fig. 1.

In the embodiment of my invention shown I provide in general a hull adapted to bear the suction pump, separating apparatus and other appliances of the dredge, including a suitable suction pipe movable about a suitable aXis of rotation for covering a given area of operation, and upon said pipe is provided a rotatable suction head preferably disposed with its mouth at an angle to the axis of the suction pipe and preferably having its end shaped to constitute a cutting agency. Means are provided for efecting the swing or sweep of the suction pipe and head over the area to be dredged, and the same means may be utilized to eect rotative movement of the cutting head upon the suction pipe to present it in position for most eective operation through both courses strokes of the cycle of movement of the pipe.

Referring to the drawings; 5 indicates in general the hull of a dredge carrying the suction apparatus and operating means.

In the present embodiment of my invention I arrange the apparatus to make a horizontal cut or suction stroke, and, therefore, dispose the suction pipe for oscillation about a vertical axis, which in the present case may be conveniently accomplished by the provision of spuds G, at the rear end of the dredge, one of which may be driven into the bottomvbelow the dredge to secure anchorage so that the dredge and the suction pipe thereon may be swung about it as a pivot. Obviously, however, the suction pipe might swing laterally about a pivot on the dredge.

From the front end of the dredge projects the suction pipe 7, providing suitable pivot parts 8, 8', mounted in corresponding bearings 9 and 10, the bea-ring 10 constituting a stationary continuation of the suction pipe, which extends back to a suitable suction pump, not shown.

, 11, 11 indicate braces connected to the suction pipe near its free end and diverging to pivotal points 12, 12, in alinement with the pivots 8, 8 of the pipe An A frame 13, on the front of the dredge, carries a motor 14, drum 15 driven thereby and sheave 16, the drum 15 having connected thereto a cable 17 which runs over the sheave and is connected as at 18 to the suction pipe to effect vertical adjustment thereof.

20 indicates the suction head in the form of an angular tube, mounted upon the eX- tremity of the suction pipe 7, for rotative movement to an eXtent limited by a pin and slot connection 21, 22. The suction head 20, at some suitable point, is provided with a downwardly extending arm 23, to which are connected the cables employed in rotating the head and oscillating the dredge and pipe;

For locking the head against rotation upon the suction pipe when desired, I provide in the upper end of the head notches 25, and upon the pipe arrange a longitudinally reciprocable bolt 26, operable by a hand lever 27, the construction providing means for locking the head at either limit of its rotative adjustment.

Upon the dredge is provided suitable power mechanism, not shown, connected through worm shaft 3() and worm wheel within the casing 31 to a power shaft 32 provided with clutches 33 and 33 of suitable construction, which may be operated to connect the power shaft 32 to supply power to either of the two companion drums 34, 34. Upon these drums are wound cables which have connection both with the arm 23 of the suction head, and suitable anchorages, in such fashion that as either drum is rotated to take up its cable or shore line it swings the dredge bodily toward the shore line anchorage, and at the same time pulls over the suction head to position to do effective work during the stroke or coarse in progress, reversal of the pull upon the shore lines to swing the dredge in the opposite stroke or course of its cycle, also reversing the position of the suction head to maintain its effective presentation to the work.

In the speciiic showing of Fig. 1, 35 and 35 indicate the right and left hand shore lines, wound upon their respective drums 34, 34', and guided in suitable sheave sets 36, 36', each said shore line connecting both with a xed shore point and with the suction head 20, the right hand line 35 being shown as running over a sheave 37 loosely shackled to arm 23, and connected to an anchor 38, while the left hand line 35 is shown as run over a sheave 3T shackled to an anchor 33 and thence running to and iiXedly connected with the arm 23,- either such form being suitable for the desired purpose.

In operation when a cut is made from left to right, as indicated in Fig. 1, the clutch 33 is thrown in to connect drum 34 to the power appliances, and the cable 35 is wound upon the drum, while the drum 34 is loose and permits its cable to unwind correspondingly. The taking up of cable 35 swings the dredge from left to right, and during such swing constantly maintains the tension upon the cable which holds the suction head 2O with its arm 23 at its extreme limit of right hand movement, so that the inclination of the suction head 2O is obliquely toward the right as well as downward, and its nose is presented in effective direction of the uncut portion of the breast. When the limit of the swing in that direction is reached the power applica-tion is reversed, drum 34 being freed and drum 34 connected with the power appliances, and

the cable 3.5 is positively taken up, its first action being to pull over the arm 23 to its eXtreme limit of left hand movement, thereby reversing the angular presentation of the suction head to the work, and givingpit a A downward and left-hand inclination so that.d it operates through the return swing from right to left in the same effective manner as on its opposite movement. Obviously the vertical height of the cut may be adjusted by taking up or slackening the cable 17 adjustably connecting the suction pipe to the A frame 13.

While I have herein described in some detail an embodiment of my invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many changes in the specic construction might be made without departure from the spirit and scope of my invention, and I do not desire to be understood as limiting myself thereto in its particular details further than as speciied in the claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a dredge, a hull, a suction pipe thereon, a suction head mounted for rotation with respect thereto, means for oscillating the suction pipe and automatically reversing the position of the suction head at the ends of the stroke of the suction pipe, and means operable from the hull to lock the suction head in either limit of oscillation.

2. In a dredging apparatus, the combination of a suction pipe, a suction head mounted on said pipe for oscillation to present it effectively to the work during each stroke of the cycle of oscillation of the suction pipe, and a common means for both oscillating the suction pipe and oscillating the head upon the suction pipe, comprising shore lines having respectively running and iixed connections with said head.

3. In a dredge, the combination of a suction pipe, a vertical axis about which the suction pipe may be oscillated in substantially horizontal plane, an angular suction head carried by the extremity of t-he pipe, and rotatable thereon to present its mouth in eiective cutting position during either course of the oscillation of the suction pipe, a projection upon the head remote from the mouth, a pulley on the projection, and shore lines associated with the projection, and for oscillating the suction pipe and oscillating the suction head upon said pipe at the extremities of movement of t-he suction pipe, one said line running through the pulley and the other connected directly to the projection.

4. In a dredge, a suction pipe adapted for lateral swinging movement, a suction head mounted thereon for partial rotation and having a mouth arranged for angular presentation With respect to the suction pipe, opposite anchorages between Which the Suction pipe and head may swing, and a means for moving the suction pipe and head comprising opposite shore lines one having a running connection With an anchor and a fixed connection With the mouth and the other a fixed connection With the opposite anchor and a running connection With the mouth. l0

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of tWo Witnesses.

WILLIAM F. HOWE. In the presence of- FORE BAIN, MARY F. ALLEN. 

